The Lehigh Valley Phantoms closed out the month of March on Wednesday night against the Hershey Bears. The Phantoms were looking for payback since their last matchup one week ago when the Bears plummeted to them 6-2. Lehigh Valley then went on to win two in a row, both against the Devils.
The Phantoms are 6-3-1 in the last ten games. In their home games, the Phantoms are 6-25 (24%) on the power play and 2-20 (94%) on the penalty kill. The Phantoms’ defense is number one (90%) in penalty kills in the AHL.
Scratches for tonight’s game were Egor Zamula, Tanner MacMaster, Mason Millman, Ralph Cuddemi, Brennan Saulnier, Pascal Laberge, Felix Sandstrom, and David Kase. Zane McIntyre got the start on goal. His last game was back on March 14th, against the Bears, where he made 32 saves in a 4-1 win.
Both teams were having trouble getting going early in the first period. The Phantoms went on the power play five minutes into the game but failed to score. Hershey got away with a holding call when Zayde Wisdom had a breakaway and was held with no whistle blown. Then Lehigh Valley caught fire in the middle of the first period.
At 12:45, Tyson Foerster slid the puck under the glove of Zach Fucale to put Lehigh Valley up 1-0. Forty seconds later, Foerster passed the puck to Derrick Pouliot, who then shot the puck that hit the pad of Fucale. The puck then went over Fucale’s shoulder and in for the goal to extend the Phantoms lead 2-0.
At 15:01, the Phantoms would go on their second power play after Bears defensemen Cameron Schilling was called for tripping. A minute later, the Phantoms went up 3-0 after Wade Allison’s shot hit the pad of Fucale and went in the direction of Foerster, who finished the drive to score the goal. The Phantoms continued to have opportunities to add to their lead but couldn’t convert. The first period ended with the Phantoms having a 12-7 shot advantage.
Both teams had several chances to add goals in the second period. Zane McIntyre was doing a terrific job stopping the pucks, especially on the power play the Bears had. The Phantoms went on their third power play of the game, but the second period ended with no scoring. The Phantoms would have six seconds left on the power play when the third period started. The shots were 10-9 in favor of the Phantoms.
The Phantoms were unable to score on the power play when the third period began. Hershey started to put pressure on the Phantoms. Wade Allison was called for tripping at 5:48, putting the Bears on the power play. Hershey’s aggressive attack led them to end the shutout at 7:01 after Kody Clark’s shot blew by McIntyre for the goal.
The Bears kept the pressure on creating shot opportunities. It looked like, at times, the Phantoms were out of gas, but they stayed in it. Zane McIntyre continued to have himself a game, making some outstanding saves to keep the game 3-1. With two minutes left, Hershey pulled Fucale.
The Phantoms were able to put the game away in a two-on-one situation with Ryan Fitzgerald scoring the empty-net goal. The Phantoms would defeat the Bears 4-1, and head coach Scott Gordon won his 400th career AHL game, which is sixth on the all-time wins list. He needs 24 wins to tie John Anderson for fifth all-time.
The shot’s advantage in the third period went to the Bears 12-7. Both teams finished the night 1-4 on the power play, and Zane McIntyre made 27 saves. It was McIntyre’s first game back since the birth of his daughter. The Phantoms are now 5-2 against the Bears this year, and their record is now 11-3-2 on the season. Lehigh Valley finishes the month of March with seven wins and two losses.
The Phantoms will return to the PPL Center on Saturday, April 3rd, against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05 pm on AHL.tv
